Jammed Pistol Proves Fatal

May 22, 1987

A West Side man accidentally killed himself when he looked down the barrel of a jammed gun during target practice and the gun fired, police said. Vincent J. Guanzon, 47, of 1636 N. Mobile Ave., was shot in the right eye shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Midwest Sporting Goods Store, 8565 Plainfield Rd., Lyons, according to Lyons Police Chief John Pankow.

Pankow said the shooting was being investigated as an accident.

Police said recoil marks on Guanzon`s right hand suggested that he had been holding the .45-caliber automatic pistol in his right hand as he peered down the barrel of the gun, which he had rented from the store. He had removed the ammunition clip before the accident, police said.

Guanzon, who had been practicing in one of 13 indoor shooting lanes, held a valid firearm owner`s identification card and had used the store`s target range before, said Dennis Incavo, the store`s night manager.

Guanzon was alone at the time of the accident. A range attendant ``saw him on a (television) monitor,`` Pankow said, ``and at first thought he`d passed out because of the heat.`` Then the attendant discovered the body.